Delverium Tools and Weapons Tier List

This page ranks Delverium tools and weapons by first-session utility, not by invented DPS. Letters are S, A, B, and C. They come from the Steam demo (on Steam since February 2025), public previews, and developer notes about harvest rules. Steam Early Access is scheduled for September 22, 2026 (the storefront may show September 21). Treat every rank as a snapshot that will move when Sagestone Games retunes recipes or swing hitboxes.

If you want crop and livestock letters, switch to the farming tier list. For the parent overview, return to the tier list hub. Crafting benches and nested recipes sit in the crafting guide. Cave light, ore, and walls sit in the dungeons guide.

Ranking rules (read these before arguing a letter)

• No fake numbers. We will not publish a made-up damage table for copper swords or fireball staffs.
• Job first. A tool that opens wood, ore, tilled soil, or light outranks a weapon you only equip for one fight.
• Dual-use climbs. An axe that chops trees, cuts wild plants, and still swings in a pinch is more valuable than a single-purpose trophy.
• Co-op copies matter. Split-screen (4) and online co-op (8) mix. Extra pickaxes and torches help a shared delve more than extra fashion weapons.
• Early Access disclaimer. If a later build changes hoe harvest rules or torch placement, the letter changes with it.

S tier — you stall without these

Pickaxe — S. This is the delve tool. Previews show it breaking ore and carving dungeon walls so you can open paths, not just tap surface stone. If the group is about to drop into a cave, the player with the pickaxe is the player who decides whether the tunnel continues. Craft upgrades through the crafting loop when you have ore; do not wait for a “perfect” combat drop.

Torch — S. Caves are pitch black without placeable light. You can set torches on the ground or on walls and keep working. A torch is not a weapon and it still outranks most weapons because a dark tunnel wastes more time than a slow swing. Stack them before you leave the settlement. The dungeons guide covers why light is part of the loadout, not a decoration.

Hoe — S for the farm, A if you never plant. You till soil with it, and developer comments from the demo period note that the hoe will destroy any crop, mature or not, so you can clear a bad plot. That makes it both the start of farming and the undo button. If your session is “delve only,” drop it to A. If you want food without living on forage, it stays S. Pair it with the farming guide.

Watering can — S alongside the hoe. Tilling without water is a dirt rectangle. Official copy is blunt: till, plant, water, watch the farm grow. In co-op, a second can is a better craft than a second vanity sword. Keep it next to the hoe on the hotbar during morning chores, then park it in a chest before a dungeon so inventory stays free.

A tier — default every session

Axe — A, bordering S on day one. Starting loadouts in demo previews put an axe in your pocket with a pickaxe and a hammer. It cuts wood, clears plants, and works as emergency melee. You knock seeds and forage off wild plants with it. Once you own a dedicated sword, the axe stays on the bar for wood runs; it does not need to win a DPS argument.

Sword — A. Melee backbone. Previews show players forging a sword before they take caves seriously, and developer harvest notes say the sword is the fastest way to clear multiple mature crops in range without deleting immature ones. That dual-use is why it sits in A instead of a pure combat ghetto. It does not replace the axe for trees or the pickaxe for walls.

Bow — A for cautious delves. Ranged option with ammo overhead (arrows show up in demo recipes). It lets you poke zombies and other cave threats before they close. In co-op, one bow user covering a pickaxe user is more useful than four people stacking melee. Rank assumes you actually craft arrows; an empty bow is a B.

B tier — strong, not first

Hammer — B. Previews describe it as the tool for house rocks and stubborn settlement stone, not the ore pick. You want it while you square a plot and raise walls for NPC rooms. After the homestead is no longer a rock garden, it spends more time in a chest than on the bar. Upgrade path still goes through crafting.

Staff — B until the recipe is cheap. Demo inventories have shown fireball-style staff recipes that ask for extra materials (bricks and a workbench come up in footage). It is the other ranged option next to the bow. We will not invent a damage number to force it into S. When you can afford it without starving the farm, it is a comfortable B that can rise in Early Access if Sagestone leans into magic.

C tier — postpone without guilt

“One of every weapon” loadouts — C. Carrying sword, axe-as-weapon, bow, and staff at once looks prepared and plays like a cluttered belt. Pick a melee (sword, with axe as backup) and one ranged (bow or staff). Park the rest.

Unupgraded spares you never swing — C. Co-op hosts sometimes craft four swords “just in case.” One spare in a chest is hospitality. Four spares is ore you did not spend on pickaxes, torches, and fences.

Suggested first-dungeon kit

Before you walk toward a cave marker, run this kit against the getting started loop:

1. Axe (wood on the way, plants, panic melee).
2. Pickaxe (walls and ore).
3. Torch stack (place as you go).
4. Sword or bow (one dedicated combat tool, not both if inventory is tight).
5. Food from the farming ranks, even if it is just cooked forage.

Leave the hoe and watering can in the settlement unless you are relocating a farm. Leave the hammer home unless you expect to smash rocks for a forward camp. That is a utility kit, not a damage spreadsheet.

Co-op split without a dedicated server

There is no official dedicated server. One machine hosts; friends join through Steam. If you need the world to stay up when the host logs off, read dedicated server notes for community options. Tool ranks do not change in that setup — pickaxe and torch still gate the delve — but the host should stash extras near the bed so drop-in players are not punching trees with empty hands.

Blacksmith NPCs, once housed, are the shop you visit when a rank says “upgrade.” See NPC roles and recruiting rather than waiting for a random floor drop to replace a tool you can craft.

What will move these letters

Early Access is scheduled to expand biomes, bosses, gear, fishing, and NPC options over a long window. A staff that is B in the demo can become A if recipes cheapen. A hammer that is B can become A if settlement stone gets nastier. This page will not pretend it already knows those patches. Check the Early Access calendar and the links hub for official notes.

Pack the S-tier tools, pick one A-tier weapon, and walk into the dark with light already in your inventory. That is the whole argument. If a later build makes the staff the obvious cave answer, the letter will move. Until then, do not skip the pickaxe because a trailer lingered on a glowing projectile.